Yieldable barrier



July 3, 1928.

E. D. SAWYER YIELDABLE BARRIER Filed July 31, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mines-585 Jive/7Z0" X {wax-sari a. 6. LSm'v July 3, 1928.

E, D, SAWYER YIELDABLE BARRIER Filed July 31, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Int/enfor- 51219'6/7 y Q lyth llfifr iesses Patented July 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES EMERSON D. SAWYER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

YIELDABLE BARRIER.

Application filed July 31,

My invention relates to certain novel and,

useful improvements in yieldable barriers and has as its principal object the providing of means to further simplify yieldable barrier construction along commercial lines. This invention is an improvement in yieldable barriers over the devices disclosed in my previous applications for *patents on yieldable barriers. These applications were filed in the United States Patent Gflice, the first on or about December 27th, 1921, Serial Number 525,236, the second filed in the United States Patent Oflice July 8th, 1922, Serial Number 573,759, the third filed in the United States Patent Ofii'ce May 16th, 1923, Serial Number 639,365, and the fourth filed 'in the United States Patent Oflicc May 16th, 1923, Serial Number 639,866.

The present invention relates more particularly to the carriage or spacer box which is mounted within the shell of the columns supporting the ends of the roadway network and containing the braking apparatus that retards the paying out of the reserve memhers attached to each end of the network.

The parts used to make up a barrier of this type must be designed so as to withstand the heavy shock caused by avehicle being brought to a stop through the means of the-barrier; These parts must be built to function correctly mechanically, perform their heavy duty without failure, and yet the scheme of the whole machine must be such that the useful purpose of the machine is not too restricted due to the excessive cost of complicated and extra heavy parts. The device must be so applied commercially as to give yieldable barriers broad public use, and that commercializing" of yieldable barriers through mechanical perfection forms the chief'- object of this invention.

()ther objects of this invention are, first, tosiinp'l ify' the variousparts of barriers so'as to restrict the bulk of the machine, second, ro-- approach as near as possible to the adoption of standardized mechanical parts for use in barriers and third, to add mechanical refinement to those parts and devices which have'been described in't'he appli'c'ants previous applications for patents on yieldable barrier devices.

Further objects will appear throughout the specification;

1926. Serial No. 126,280.

The invention consists in the combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational face view of the carriage which moves vertically in the barrier column. This view is taken from the roadway side of the column.

Figure 2 is an elevational view showing the side of the carriage.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation taken approximately on the line A-A of Figure 2 showing the contents of the barrier carriage.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken approximately al'onp; the line B-B of Fig. 3 showing the braking apparatus contained within the carriage.

Flgure 5 is a view on the line CO of Fig. l, showing a detail of the construction shown in Fig. l. 7

Figure 6 is a top or plan view of the carriage on the line DD of F ig. 2, combined with a sectional view of the column shell in which the carriage moves vertically. This view shows also in outline the top of the balancing counterweight.

Figure 7 is a sectional diagrannnatical view taken on the same section line as Fig. 4, indicating the disengaged position of the braking apparatus.

Figure?) is also a sectional diagrammatical view taken on the same section line as Fig. l, showing the engaged or fully effective pos tion of the bral-zing apparatus.

l igure 9 is also a-sect-ional diagrammatical view taken on the same section line Fi l, showing the position of the relative parts of the braking appa 'atus, when the brake is being disengaged. 7

Referring particularly to Fig. 6, the numeral. 1 indicates a carriage which I have termed-spacer box in my previous applications for yieldable barrier patents. This carriage 1 is mounted within a hollow column Two columns are required for each barrier, one on each side of the roadway. Each column is divided into two main compartments longitudinally, one compartment providing vertical traveling space for the carriage 1 and the other compartment af- .riage 1 to move vertically within the column fording vertical traveling space for the counterweight 3, which is used to balance the weight of carriage 1, through the means of sheaves and connecting cable. Each of the two columns is equipped with a carriage and a balancing counterweight.

To the top and bottom of carriage 1, an operating chain is attached. nection is made by an adjustable device fl, consisting of a double-threaded socket tapped into the top of carriage 1 by means of a left hand thread, the center of the socket being tapped out with a right hand thread for engaging the. threaded end of the non-- rotating lug attachet. to the operating chain, which lug forms a part of the device 4. Lock nuts are provided for both the socket and the lug. The object of this construction is to provide a turnbuckle take-up for the chain requiring only'a short space. The bottom connection of the operating chain to the carriage is made by means of a spring equipped U-bolt 5. This operating chain being of the belt type driven by a motor and speed reducer located preferably at the base of either column causes the balanced car- 2, thus moving the roadway network which is attached to carriages 1 by reserve cables 12 and 12 vertically, either into or out of an operative position across the roadway.

As the carriages 1 move vertically up and down within their respective columns they I are forced against the flanged-over edges 2" and 2 of the column shell 2, due to the suspension pull of the cables 12 and 12 which serve to support the roadway network in a horizontal or taut position between V the columns. The carriages 1 are therefore equipped with rollers 6 mounted 011 frames 7, attached both at the top and bottom of carriages 1 as best shown in Figures 1 and '3. These rollers 6 are mounted so as to bear normally on the flanged-over edges of the column 2. This is best shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6 also shows that the frames 7 are not rigidly attached to the carriages 1, but are connected so as to spring back through the means of the housed-in springs 7, thus permitting the faces of carriages 1 to bear fully along the full length of its two front edges on the flanged-over ed 'es 2 and 2 of the columns 2 when the roadway network exerts a heavy'pull outwardly. This heavy pull outwardly would generally be due to a vehicle striking the roadway network.

In one of myprevious applications I showed and described the rollers as bearing on the rounded shell of the column. I now prefer to use a construction suchas described above which will permit the faces of the rollers 6 to bear on a plane surface formed by flanged-over edges of the column sheet as at 2 and 2 The object of this flexible mounting of The top con the rollers 6, is to provide a rolling connection between the carriages 1 and the columns 2 during the normal operation of the network up and down and a solid friction producing contact between the carriages 1 and the plane surfaces formed by the column edges 2 and 2 during the abnormal operat-ion of the barrier, or during the time that the barrier is retarding or stopping a speeding vehicle.

irsshown in Figures 1, 2 and 6, spring slides 27 are mounted on the carriages 1 preferably toward the topand bottom. These slides 27 serve to keep the carriages 1 in approximately their proper alignment within the columns 2, even if the horizontal pull of the roadway networkis dispensed with temporarily, such that the carriage 1 with its rollers 6 is for a time notbearing on the inner surfaces of the column 2, or during the time that the carriage is merely hanging free within the column shell.

Carriage 1 as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6 has bosses 31 formed on the side adjacent to the compartment plate 2 of the column 2, so as to minimize the area exposed to sliding contact on that side of the carriage.

On the face of the carriage 1 are attached as best shown in Figures 1 and 2, the auxiliary tension lugs 28, to which are secured tension connections, not shown, that help to support the network in a nearly horizontal position.

Also in Figures -1, 2 and 6 are shown the fair-leader lugs 29 through which the reserve cables 12 and 12 pay out, when the roadway network is struck and run out by a vehicle.

The hand-hole plates 30 which cover openings in the face of the carriage 1, through wnich the apparatus within the carriage is made accessible, are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. On the rear of carriage 1 is placed cover plate 32, shown best in Fig. 2. This cover plate 32 serves to keep the dust and grit from entering the carriage.

lVithin the carriage 1 is the apparatus which provides the braking force that retards the paying-out of the reserve cables 12 and 12, when the roadway network struck by a vehicle.

This braking apparatus is practically all mounted 011 the shafts, 8, 8, 8" and 8 as best shown in Figures 3 and 4:. These shafts 8, 8, 8 and 8 are pivotally mounted at each end in a bushing 8 This is shown best in Fig. 8. This view also shows that the shafts 8, 8 8 and 8 are considerably smaller in diameter where they enter their bearings than through the body of the shaft, the object being to minimize the re tative friction in the bearings, yet maintaining a shaft of the proper transverse strength.

At one side of the carriage 1 the bushill) ings 8 are set within other bushings 8 which are of suffic-ientlyzlarge outside diaming, are the brake wheel 11, the upper re serve cable drum 10, the recoil cable drum 10 and the gear 9. On the shaft 8 is securely mounted the gear 9 and also on the shaft 8 are pivotally mounted the lever plates 16. 'The key 33 is rounded away so as to just fill the keyscat in shaft 8 where it passes through the lever plates 16, so .as to give a rounded shaft section where the shaft 8 turns within the plates 16.

On the shaft 8 are securely mounted the gear 9 and the grooved cam spool 24. At one end the shaft 8 is formed int-o a square hub 35 for the possible attachment of a hand socket crank to be used in rewinding the cables 12 and 12 on their relative drums.

On the shaft 8 are securely mounted the lower reserve cable drum 10 and the gear 9 The reserve cables 12 and 12 are attached to the drums 10 and 10 at their dead ends, preferably by means of the end of the cable passing through the flange of the drum, and a cable clip secured thereon. The reserve length of cables 12 and 12 are then coiled, each turn on top ofthe other on drums 10 and 10". V

The gears 9, 9 9" and 9, which are mounted securely on shafts 8, 8, 8 and 8 respectively, serve to synchronize the revolution of theseshafts and-the parts secured thereto. Thus the drum 10 and the drum 10 turn through the same angle simultaneously and hencethe same length of reserve cable will pay out at the same time from each drum.

To the drum '10", referring particularly to Fig. 2, is attached the recoil Cable 12 which passes upward through the fair leader 13, then over a sheave at the top of the column 2, down over a. sheave secured to the top of the counterweight 3 and then back up to a dead-end fastening at the top of the column. This recoil cable 12 is also wound spirally on top of itself on the drum 10", but in the opposite direction, so that when the cable 12 is unreeled, cable l 2 ais reeled up. The object of this arrangement is to provide a means which will generate potential-energy due to the raising of the counterweight 3 when the cable .12 pays out, so that the release of counterweight 3 later will cause, due to its gravitational pull, the

cable 12 to uncoil and'turn the drum 10 thus recoiling the cable 12 on the drum 10, as well as the cable 12 on the drumalOf.

The rotation .of the two latter drums .10 and 10 is synchronized by means of the gears 9, 9, 9 and 9 An alternate recoiling arrangement is provided through the means of terminating the balancingcable 12 at the fair leader 13, and fastening the end there. This leaves the drum 1O inoperative. The recoiling O'f'illG reserve cables 12 and 12 on the dru1n'10 and 10 is-thenaccomplished by means of wind ing the cables backonto their respective drums with a manually operated hand crank attached at the lug or hub 35.

The braking force exerted within the carriage to retard thepaying out of 'the reserve cables when an automobile strikes the network, is developed :through the generating of friction on the brake wheelv 11. Referring to Fig. 3 it is seen that the brake wheel 11 is preferably shown securely mounted on theshaft 8, yet itis possible to securely mount-brake wheel 11 on any of the revolving shafts withinthe carriage 1, as the rotation of all the shafts is synchronized by the meshed gears 9, 9, 9 and 9 Thus it is seen that even if thebulk of the stopping or retardingforcemust be exerted through the medium of the lower reserve cable 12, instead of the upper cable 12, the gears 9, 9, 9 and 9 transmit that force directly from the frictional brake drum lltoithe cable drum 10 on the lower shaft 8. These friction generating parts are made up of the'brake wheel 11, the brake bandlet ,the brake band lining ltflthe lever plates .16, connecting pins 'loand 17, pivot block. 19, eyebolt 20, rocker washer 21, spring 22, lever 23 and the grooved cam spool 24.

A description of the operation of the braking mechanism follows. Any tendency of the reserve cable 12 to unreel, due to the roadway network being hit, would pull it in the directionof the arrow :0 as shown in Figure 2 and induce a rotation in the direction of thearrow y of-the parts secured to-shaft 8 and a rotation in the direction of arrow .2 to thoseparts secured to shaft 8*, also a rotation inthe direction of the arrow 3 of those parts secured to the shaft S at the same time-the shaft 8 and those parts secured to it aremade to rotate in the direction of the arrow 2. Now referring to Fig. the key, 33 is shown to be rounded off so as toallow the lever plate 16 to idle or turn freely on the shaft 8. The lever plates 16.are :freetorock on the shaft 8, as that shaft turns with its attached gear 9*. The object of this arrangement of parts is to permit of using the shaft 8 as the heel or fulcrum for the lever plates 16 and also an anchorage point for the head end f thebrake band Lhthrough the medium of therpin Referring again to Fig. 4, attached to the the roadway. There is an air gap brake band 14 is-the releasing spring 18 which serves to hold the brake lining 14 free of the surface of the brake drum 11, when the brake is not engaged or operative. Also in Fig. 4 is shown the releasing lever 25, pivoted on the lugs 25", which are attached to the shell of the carriage 1. The upper end of the lever 25 is normally held in'place by the free turning latch hook 26. The heel 25 of the lever 25'has a-loose pin connection 25, where it attaches. to the heel of thelever 23 as shown in Fig. 5. This loose pivot connection at 25 is used to permit the lever 23 to swing from a. position such'as23 to 23 as shown in Fig. 3. Referring also-to Figures 3 and 4, the rocker washer 21 permits the eye bolt 20 to move laterally as the lever 23 varies its position from 23 to 23 Fig. 7 shows in outlinethe same parts as shown in Fig. 4, but in the relative positions they assume when thebrake is disengaged and the network is directly across 14 between the brake lining 14 and the brake drum .11. Lever 23 rests on the small di ameter of the cam 24, at 24, and the tension on the sprin connection 22 is practically released. The lever plates 16 have been rotated through a slight angle upward at the connection 17, the end of the brake band 14 at the pin 15 has. been slacked off and the brake band 14 has been raised free of the brake wheel 11, by the 'recoil of the spring 18. The releasing lever 25 is in its normal position, with its upper end locked in place by the latch 26. When the roadway net is hit and run out by an automobile, thus rotating the drums and shafts with their attached parts, the various members which make up the braking apparatus tend to assume the position as indicated in Fig. 8.

This Fig. 8 shows the lever 23 pulled down by the cam 24, to a position 24*. A heavy downward pull is therefore put on the spring 22, attached at one end in one of the adjustment holes 23, thereby swinging the lever plates 16 through a small downward angle, pulling the end of the brake band at pin 17 downward also. This forces the-brake band lining 14 into contact with the brake wheel 11, and also extends the spring 18. A heavy frictional forceis then developed, tending to slacken and stop the uncoiling of the cables 12 and 12 from the drums 10 and 10*.

Again referring to Fig. 8, when the lever 7 plates 16 are pulled downward at the connection 17, the pin 15 is raised slightly. The pull on the brake 14 at the connection 15, then induces a slight moment with an arm indicated by the distance M. This moment is deemed necessary'in order to prevent the brake band 14 from becoming frozen. on

r to the brake drum 11, in which event the pay location of the barrier site.

out of the cables 12 and 12 would be stopped too suddenly, and some part of the braking apparatus would be over-strained or broken. This negative moment working through the arm M tends to slightly slacken the brake band-14 through further extending the spring 22 a slight amount.

After the parts of the braking apparatus have assumed positions as were indicated in Fig. 8 and the automobile has been stopped, the various parts of the braking apparatus must then be brought back to the position shown-in Fig. 7.

This process is shown by Fig. 9. Releas ing lever 25 is unlocked by turning the latch 26 by hand. Then the lever 25 is allowed to swing outwardly. The heel 25 is raised, thus Jermitting the spring 22 to recoil. The recoil or release of the spring 22 removes the tension from the brake band 14, and the spring 18 lifts it clear of the brake drum 11. The top shaft 8 is then free to be recoiled by the potential energy stored in the raised counterweight 3, or by manual rewinding by means of a hand crank applied at the shaft end 35. As the cables 12 and 12 are rewound on their drums, the cam 24 also rotates backward, the lever 23 following in the cam groove, back to its slackened position at 24. The releasing lever 25 is then forced back into its normal vertical position manually, and the latch 26 looked over it.

The general object of the braking arrange ment as described, is to provide a braking device that is disengaged normally, so that corrosion cannot freeze it in position when inoperative, yet providing means to make that device functionautomatically as the reserve cables are uncoiled' or paid out, and also to provide means for returning the different parts .readily to their inoperative positions.

As has been pointed out, this invention provides an arrangement of parts such that all these parts are readily accessible when assembled; all parts can be readily assem bled; and means for disconnecting the various parts through the medium of extra bushings 8 and key drift holes 84 are provided;

Cam spool 24 is readily seen to be the means which when revolved one way funtions so as to tighten-the brake band and develop a braking force. Different shapes of this cam can be readily substituted depending on the If a barrier is located close to a point of danger, the cam must force the brake to perform at its maXi mum aftera short run out of the reserve cables. If the barrier is set back some distance from the point of danger, the cam spool can be made to gradually increase the braking force up to a certain load, and then continue at this load for a part of the run out, and toward the end of the run out, jump the braking force up to a maximum. Various shapes of cam spools may be introduced in different barriers, to fit varying installation conditions. The cam spool is provided with flanges so that the lever 23 can never entirely leave the grooved surfaces, even if the pull on the roadway cables turns the drums over more times than the allowable run out of reserve cable ordinarily permits.

From the foregoing description, it is seen that the present invention provides many advantages over the constructions of previous similar devices and makes barrier construction in general more nearly commercially correct.

lVhile I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. 1, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is;

1. In a device of the class described comprising a pair of columns and a barrier net supported therebetween, a counterweighted carriage adapted to move vertically within each column, each carriage supporting reserve cables, said reserve cables being connected to said barrier net and terminating within said carriage, automatically tightening braking devices associated with each car-- riage for initially slowing down and finally stopping the paying out of said reserve cables when said barrier net is struck by a moving vehicle, and manually operatable means for quick release of said braking de vices after said vehicle is stopped.

2. In a device of the class described comprising a pair of columns and a barrier not supported therebetween, a counterweighted arriage adapted to move vertically within each column, each carriage supporting reserve cables, said reserve cables being connected to said barrier net and terminating r within said carriage, automatically tightening braking devices associated with each carriage for initially slowing down and finally stopping the paying out of said reserve cables when said barrier net is struck by a moving vehicle, means for the prevention of the freezing together of brake band and brake drum, parts of the said braking devices, when those parts are in contact during the paying out of said reserve cables, and manually operatable means for quick release of said braking devices after said vehicle is stopped.

3. In a yieldable barrier in combination with a slotted column formed from a single sheet of metal, and divided into two longitudinal compartments, by a bent sheet of metal, a carriage mounted to travel vertically within the column compartment adjacent the open column slot, the face of the carriage toward the slot, a barrier net supported by said carriage in a plane normal to said carriage face, and passing through said slot, rollers mounted on said carriage normal to said carriage face, and the edges of the metal sheets forming said column and said compartment separatorflanged-over to form bearing surfaces normal to said rollers.

EMERSON D. SAWYER. 

